Magic and Mayhem
by Avirra
Summary: Murdock and two kids versus a group of determined kidnappers in Disney World.  Need I say more?
1. Chapter 1

A quick note - this story takes place a few months after 'See No Evil, Hear No Evil'. This is only of note because that is the story that introduces the characters Annie and Dawn Wilkins into my A-Team world. Mrs. Baracus is canon from the episode 'Lease with an Option to Die'.

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><p><strong>Magic and Mayhem<strong>

**Part I**

Face had never been so grateful in his life for his 'Vette. Otherwise, he was fairly sure he would be either deaf or crazier than Murdock by time they reached Orlando.

It had now been five weeks since they'd rescued Murdock from Decker's POW simulation. The pilot was still a little thinner than he had been before, but his strength and stamina were pretty much back to where they had been. He wasn't quite back to his hyper-active self, but considering they had teamed him up with a six-year old, she was making up for the energy he lacked.

All it had taken was for B.A. to drop a bug in Face's ear about what Murdock had said about wanting to take their mother and Dawn to Disney World. When they found out that Hannibal was wanted for the filming of 'Ghost of the Aquamaniac' in Florida, the timing seemed perfect to make that trip a reality.

Face made all the arrangements before the team headed for Chicago to pick up Mother Baracus and Murdock, then they swung through to collect Annie and Dawn before heading for Orlando. They were nearly there when Face gave a glance over to Hannibal, who was comfortably ensconced in the passenger seat.

"How do you think B.A. is coping with a six-year old in the van?"

Smirking, Hannibal glanced forward at the van.

"Are you referring to Dawn or Murdock?"

"Alright then, Colonel – how do you think he's coping with two six-year olds in the van?"

That got an easy laugh from Hannibal.

"I wouldn't be too worried about it. B.A. will behave himself while he's got his mother riding with him. Besides, better two six-year olds that are entertaining each other than one bored six-year old."

The chaos Face and Hannibal were imagining in the van? Simply didn't exist, to B.A.'s eternal gratitude. Between his mother and Annie, they had provided a variety of small things to keep the pair in the back pleasantly occupied. At their last stop, Mother Baracus had found a guide to the park and given it to them. Since that time, they had had their heads together in the back, laughing softly as they planned out what order they wanted to see the attractions in. The 'Small World' boat ride was at the very top of their list,

Annie took a look at them and smiled. Dawn had always wanted to go to Disney World and now, dressed in her gifts from her doting 'Uncle HM' - a Piglet t-shirt and a much smaller version of Murdock's jacket - she was eagerly pointing to the different things she wanted to see. Murdock had on Tigger shirt under his own jacket and easily matched her enthusiasm. In fact, they were so engrossed in their plans that Mother Baracus actually had to let them know when they had finally arrived.

Bouncing out of the van, Murdock helped Dawn out as B.A. helped his mother and Annie. Once Face and Hannibal had parked as well, they went as a group to the entrance. Hannibal didn't have to be on set until the next day, so he figured he would at least spend one day in the park with his team.

It had been decided that the best plan might be to allow Dawn and Murdock to run around and do whatever they wanted that first morning and then they'd all meet for lunch. Annie was a little concerned, but Dawn promised that no matter what the temptation, she would not leave Uncle HM's side for a minute. Murdock could be trusted not to let anything happen to her.

They all watched for a second as the two of them went off hand-in-hand toward the 'Small World' ride, then began to discuss what they'd like to see themselves.

It was Disney World, after all. What could possibly happen?


	2. Chapter 2

**Part II**

Murdock and Dawn hadn't even climbed off the first trip through the 'Small World' attraction before Dawn was begging for a second trip through. Murdock just gave her a hug and beamed at her.

"You are the best niece ever – I **knew** you wouldn't bail on me!"

The combination of the tall lanky white man in tandem with the petite young black girl got the occasional odd look, but their matching jackets plus the girl's habit of constantly grabbing his sleeve with variations of _'Uncle HM, look at that!' _was taken as pretty convincing proof that they belonged together.

On their second trip through, he was teaching her the lyrics in Spanish and she was singing along with great enthusiasm, if not great accuracy. By the end of the ride, they were starting to debate a third trip through when Dawn spotted an ice cream vendor.

"Uncle HM? Do you think it's too early for ice cream?"

With a shocked expression, Murdock reached for her hand.

"My dear niece, it is **never **too early for ice cream. Let's go."

They each got a mouse shaped treat and began wandering idly while indulging in the tasty treats. An odd noise to the side drew Dawn's interest and her gasp caught Murdock's attention even as she was reaching for his sleeve.

The scene was taking place in one of the secluded runaways where the costumed characters emerged from and disappeared to occasionally. There, nearly out of sight, was a large man. Not B.A. variety large, but still well-muscled. He had a struggling child in his arms. What made this scene different from any number of other parents coping with a tantrum was the tape that Murdock spotted covering the young boy's mouth.

Murdock didn't take time to think out his next actions – not that additional time would have changed what he did. He handed what remained of his ice cream to Dawn and went after the man. The man was so focused on keeping hold of the squirming boy that he never even noticed Murdock until the first punch was headed his way.

While the punch didn't seem to affect the man too badly in other ways, it did cause him to lose his grip on the boy. As Murdock and the man disappeared behind the scenery, the boy ran over to Dawn, tugging the tape off of his mouth and crying. Dawn automatically offered him the slowly melting remains of Murdock's ice cream, which seemed to calm him down a little. He calmed down even more when Dawn took hold of his hand. She couldn't make out what he was saying, but figured that was because he was upset, so she tried to reassure him.

"Don't worry. Uncle HM is used to dealing with bad guys."

Had he been able to hear it, Murdock would have wished this was as easy as Dawn made it sound. The man was considerably stronger than Murdock and giving the pilot a hard time of it, especially since it had been almost three months since he'd had to deal with any fighting. Still, experience finally told as Murdock finally managed to maneuver the man to where he was in front of a low rail. One good punch sent the man backwards over it and between the punch and the fall, the big man was finally down for the count.

Brushing off his jacket and restraightening his ball cap, Murdock started back toward where the kids were waiting. He wasn't really looking at them though. The Captain kept looking back to where he'd left the man as he wondered if he was operating alone. In a park this size? He doubted that.

"Alright, muchacho and muchacha, let's make tracks before Baby Huey wakes back up. We're going to go and find your folks, little guy."

"Watashi wa watashi no chichi ga hoshii."


	3. Chapter 3

**Part III**

The use of Japanese caused Murdock to snap his head back around to take a closer look at the kid and focus. Well, son of a - yep. Japanese boy, probably a little younger than Dawn. He had polished off the rest of the ice cream, leaving a decent amount of it on his face. Murdock looked around for a water fountain to clean him off a little. He went along willingly so long as Dawn went as well.

A few moments later, the boy was damp but less sticky as Murdock directed them all to a bench. Giving the boy as confident a smile as he could muster, he knelt down by the boy and started speaking in Japanese to him.

~So, little guy, you said you want your father. Dawn and I here will sure take you to him if we can. Do you know where he is?~

The boy slowly nodded.

~My father is at work.~

~Well, that should make things easier. So, your father works here?~

The boy shook his head. _Oh well, so much for hoping this was going to be easy._

Dawn was looking between the boy and Murdock with undisguised admiration.

"You mean you can sing **and** speak in all the other languages?"

He gave her a grin.

"Not all of them, sweetie, but I do know a few. I bet you'd be real good at them too."

Dawn reached into one of her pockets and pulled out a tissue for the boy's nose. He gave her a smile back as he took it.

"Namae wa nan desu ka?"

Dawn looked up at Murdock.

"He's asking what your name is, sweetie."

"Dawn. What's yours?"

Murdock translated back and the boy looked shy as he answered after wiping his nose.

"Daiki."

~Okay, Daiki - could you tell me what other adults call your father?~

"Taishi-kakka."

Dawn reached over and laid the hand that Daiki wasn't holding on Murdock's shoulder. He'd gone awfully pale.

Murdock's thoughts were going fast even for him. Other adults called his father Mister Ambassador? Things both made a lot more sense and got a lot more dangerous all at once.

"Dawn sweetie, we've got a problem. We need to find the rest of the team and your mom fast. Or at least find a way -"

Daiki suddenly grabbed a handful of Murdock's Tigger shirt. Following the boy's stare, he saw Baby Huey - plus three others looking around.

~Uhm - let go of Dawn's hand, little guy. I need to pick you up because we might have to move really, really fast, okay?~

Daiki nodded and Murdock tried to steady his breath as he picked the boy up. Dawn had been watching everything quietly, but now she squeezed Murdock's hand.

"Uncle HM? I think they saw us."

Murdock took a glance over his shoulder. Dawn was right. Hooboy.

"Man - what would Scooby-Doo do in a situation like this?"

"That's easy, Uncle HM. Run."


	4. Chapter 4

**Part IV**

The young Japanese man re-entered his hotel room. It was a nice enough room - when the brat wasn't in here with him. No matter. After today, he would not be saddled with a job so far beneath him as babysitting.

He straightened his tie as he looked at his reflection in the mirror. Everything was going perfectly. He would have money, recognition and get even with the Ambassador all in this one simple plan. He was practicing his speeches and his responses to the television and print medias in his head. He didn't want to sound rehearsed, but he wanted everything to come across just right.

_No - no. I did nothing any other man would not have done. I am just gratified that through my small efforts, the Ambassador's son is safely back home._

In his mind's eye, he could see the women viewing him with admiration. _So young, so brave, so handsome and yet still so modest. _Oh yes - after this, he would have his choice of women. And not only women. He would become a national hero - the loyal Second Secretary to the Ambassador taking on the kidnappers in the spirit of the samurai of old. Half of the chore of rising in the diplomatic core was getting name recognition. That he would have very soon along with his picture on the front page of every paper in Japan.

He was still admiring himself when the tap came at the door.

"I trust everything has been taken care of?"

"Actually? The uhm – men lost him, sir."

With darkening eyes, the man slowly turned away from his beloved reflection.

"You are telling me these men I paid to do the job lost a five year old boy? I practically hand him to them and they lost him?"

"The men say they were attacked and the man took the child from them."

The Second Secretary's eyes got even darker.

"**The **man. One man?"

The way the man swallowed answered the question.

"Find them."

"And when we do?"

"You already know what to do with the boy. Kill the man."

Meanwhile the rest of the team were settling into their seats for the Jungle Cruise since Mother Baracus had expressed interest in it. Hannibal felt half-way drowsy sitting there as the day slowly got warmer. It was pretty nice to have a stress-free day for once.


	5. Chapter 5

**Part V**

When Dawn was right, Dawn was right. Murdock kept a firm hold on Daiki and started off, trying to keep a pace that Dawn could keep up with. They were going to start drawing attention and he needed the boy to be ready in case questions got tricky. The lucky thing so far was that the men were trying not to attract attention to themselves. For the moment, that was giving them slight advantage, but not one that would last. The kids didn't have long enough legs and Murdock could only carry them so far and so fast.

~Okay, Daiki? I know this has been a really, really scary day for you, but you are going to need to trust Dawn and me. Until we can get you back to your real father, I want you to call me father. Can we pretend that? And Dawn will be your cousin.~

Daiki clung a little tighter to him and nodded.

"Hai, chichi. Kanojo wa watashi no itokodesu."

"Dawn, sweetie? If anyone asks, Daiki is my son and you're his cousin."

Her eyes got a little bigger, then she hurried a little faster to keep up.

"Who's my aunt then?"

"We'll figure that out in a minute. I'm going to need to carry you for a minute, sweetie."

Murdock had spotted that one of the steam engines was getting ready to leave. He picked up Dawn and hurried over as fast as he could. His body was starting to complain but he ignored it as he gasped out his question to the woman getting ready to close off the entrance.

"Room for three more, ma'am?"

Seeing him and the two kids on his hips, the woman didn't hesitate. Smiling, she let him past.

"You look like your arms could use the rest. Enjoy the ride, sir."

"Thanks, ma'am – you have no idea what this means."

Sinking down onto one of the seats, he didn't really draw a good breath until the train was moving and he saw the men turning around looking lost. When he saw one starting to look their way, Murdock bent over quickly like he was tying his sneaker, staying that way until the train had moved out. Dawn had started to think he'd forgotten her question when he looked over to the boy again.

~Daiki? Do you know your mother's name?~

Murdock's breath caught in his throat as the question bought tears and he heard the tone of the boy's soft crying. His guts told him what that meant. He knew that sound. He knew that feeling.

~I'm sorry. I really am, little guy. I lost my mother when I was your age too.~

He could feel the boy's eyes on him and then looked down. Daiki seemed to be looking intently for something in Murdock's eyes - Murdock realized what it was. When an adult tells a kid that the exact same thing happened to them, the kid wants to know that they aren't just being brushed off. Murdock was being truthful and Daiki responded to that. The child wiped his face off on the Tigger shirt and settled down, snuggling into the pilot's side.

Dawn climbed over Murdock so that Daiki was between them and she smoothed Daiki's hair. Murdock gave the girl a warm smile, remembering not so long ago when she had appointed herself as his nurse.

Still? They were on the train but not out of the woods so far as evading those men was concerned. Looking backwards, he could see one of them leaning, trying to get a better look at the train. When Murdock turned back around, Daiki's eyes had started to droop closed, but Dawn's were fixed on him.

"What do we do next, Uncle HM?"

Sighing, Murdock put one arm around the children.

"I'm not usually the one making the plans, sweetie, but I'll come up with something."

_I have to. I have to keep them both safe._


	6. Chapter 6

**Part VI**

Murdock's right leg was bouncing slightly as he thought, though he tried to keep his movements from waking Daiki up.

_Poor kid's had a traumatic day. I bet -_

Suddenly, a thought came to him. This kid didn't come to this park by himself. Where was whoever had been with him? And why hadn't an alarm been raised by now? Okay sure – lots of folks in the park, but surely not that many five year old Japanese boys. If someone had reported him lost or kidnapped, wouldn't anyone with a kid of the right race and age be being asked?

To Murdock, that very much smacked of an inside job. Whoever had brought the boy here was most likely in cahoots with the guys trying to follow them and get the boy. Which was probably why they were taking pains not to draw attention to themselves. If they started a stink about the boy, people would remember them and they wouldn't want to be memorable.

"Dawn, sweetie? Uncle HM needs you to help him keep an eye out. We need to try to get a message back to the others, but we need to stay on the move to keep the bad guys away from our little buddy here."

She gave a nod and looked up, ready.

"What are we keeping an eye out for?"

"A very pretty woman."

"Huh?"

"Trust me on this one. If we find a pretty woman, Face will find her. He has a gift."

That got a giggle from Dawn, which was a very welcome sound. Things were bad enough without the kids getting overly stressed out. No avoiding some stress, of course. He was just hoping these guys weren't armed. Too many families out for a peaceful day – too many bystanders that could get hurt. Not if he could help it, of course, but his first priority was with the two kids that were counting on him.

They got off at the Frontierland stop, Murdock settling Daiki back onto his right hip once they got were on the platform. Dawn was ready scanning the crowds for a woman that might draw the attention of Uncle HM's friend. With both of them concentrating on leaving the area, they never noticed that the rest of their group were chatting together on the other end of the platform as they got ready to board the train themselves.

Mother Baracus glanced at the time.

"If we ride this all the way around to the Main Street station, that should make it just about right for meeting back up with Baby and Dawn. I think I'll go around with them this afternoon. Give you young folks a chance to have some fun off on your own. Besides, I'm dying to get to know Dawn a little better."

Meanwhile, Dawn was grabbing at Murdock's jacket not far from the building housing the Country Bears Jamboree.

"I think that's her!"

Turning to look where the young girl was pointing, Murdock nodded. Very much a prime example of Faceman bait. Long, slightly curly strawberry blonde hair, white sundress covering a nicely shaped frame and a slightly puzzled look in her bright green eyes. Dawn's excitement as she pointed at the woman had not gone unnoticed by the woman herself.

Giving a slightly sheepish smile, Murdock walked over. The presence of the two children with him made her decide he was safe enough to speak to. After all, his hands were full with the pair.

"I'm sorry to bother you, ma'am, but I was wondering if you could pass a message on to a friend of mine. Oh – I'm Murdock, this is Dawn and this is Daiki."

"Daiki's my cousin."

The woman smiled down at Dawn, but gave Murdock an apologetic look back.

"I'm Bethany. But I'm sorry, Mister Murdock – I really wouldn't know how to find your friend."

"Oh – you don't have to find him. He'll find you. Nice looking guy. Khaki-ish brown pants, white shirt and a light blue sports jacket. Just tell him Murdock and friends could sure use a hand from the home team."

The whole situation was rather bemusing to Bethany. She was used to men approaching her, but she had to admit this was an all-new format.

"And why would he find me?"

Murdock just blinked as if the answer to that should have been obvious.

"You're drop-dead gorgeous, Miss Bethany. Keeping the Faceman away from a beautiful woman is like trying to keep a hummingbird away from a flower. Might happen occasionally, but you can bet it doesn't happen often."

"Uncle HM?"

Turning his head, Murdock saw what Dawn had just seen. Baby Huey was on their trail again.

"Oops – trouble. Nice meeting you, Miss Bethany. We've got to run."

As the three of them left, Bethany watched after them and couldn't help but notice the big scowling man that was following in their wake. He gave her the creeps and she was glad her sister and young nephew emerged from the Country Bear show just then.

"You should have gone into the show with us, Beth. Wasn't it boring just standing out here people-watching?"

"No. Actually, Candace, you have no idea how intriguing it can be some days."

Her eyes strayed back to where she'd last seen the man and the two children. Intriguing indeed.


	7. Chapter 7

**Part VII**

The main part of the group arrived in front of Cinderella's castle a bit earlier than the scheduled time to meet for lunch, so it wasn't a surprise that Murdock and Dawn weren't there yet. In fact, taking lines and ride times into account, everyone pretty much expected the pair would be a little late from cramming in as many rides as possible before lunch - possibly with all of those rides being through the 'Small World' ride if Murdock's last visit was any indication.

Finding a place for Mother Baracus and Annie to sit, they chatted about their afternoon plans as they waited. Mother Baracus had already told of her plans to go with Dawn and Murdock. Annie and B.A. were going to check out Epcot while Hannibal planned to go through Pirates of the Caribbean and the Haunted Mansion. Face wasn't really paying a whole lot of attention to any of the talk. He was indulging in one of his favorite pastimes - watching the women as they passed by. One shame about this type of setting, almost all the women of the right age either had children or a husband in tow, if not both.

Elsewhere, Murdock's body was starting to complain about this sudden amount of constant activity. Where the men had split up, it seemed like he was constantly having to double-back, dodge and use any number of other such evasive maneuvers. Always while carrying Daiki and occasionally Dawn as well.

An added grief was the smell of food in the air everywhere. Murdock knew if he was hungry - and he was - that the kids were bound to be as well. Even if neither of them were complaining. He was rather proud of how brave they both were being, but feeling guilty that this wasn't any kid's vision of what a trip to Disney should be. He'd have to try to make it up to them.

That couldn't be helped at the moment, so he turned his mind back to trying to get something for the kids to eat. Trouble with that was that every place selling food had a line and standing in a line meant that they would have to stop moving. Not moving? Bad idea. Very bad. Especially with the distinctive matching jackets he and Dawn were sporting. Getting rid of his faithful old jacket wasn't even a consideration - not happening. They'd been through way too much together.

He looked down and exchanged a smile with Dawn. Her smile wasn't quite as bright as usual. Poor kid had to be more tired than he was with those short legs. Murdock stopped just long enough to heft her up onto his other hip, really wishing that he had at least one of the other guys with him.

Frustrating part was that he knew exactly where they should be right now. Namely, in front of Cinderella's castle. It was already past time for them to meet, but every time he tried to head toward the centerpiece castle, he saw Baby Huey or one of his buddies cutting them off. By the third time, Murdock was starting to get the sinking feeling that he was slowly being herded somewhere. He had no idea where though, so he was never quite sure if he avoiding that problem or not. Either way, the men seemed to be closing in.

At the castle, the others were beginning to get a touch impatient when Face's wandering eyes were caught by a shapely pair of legs. The view continued to improve as his glance moved upward. The woman seemed to feel his stare and he found himself further captivated by the vivid green eyes. Hannibal and B.A. practically rolled their eyes in unison as the conman gave his jacket a light tug as he moved over toward the object of his attention.

B.A. just shrugged at Annie's questioning look.

"No sense fightin' it. Like a cat around catnip."

Face flashed a smile, opened his mouth to speak and then left his mouth hanging open as the woman suddenly smiled and extended her hand.

"You **must** be Faceman."


	8. Chapter 8

**Part VIII**

The woman's greeting got everyone's attention, except for Annie who didn't know how very few people actually called Lieutenant Templeton Peck by the nickname of Faceman.

For his part, Face took the offered hand after his smile had faltered for only a second.

"I must have bumped my head. I can't think of any other reason I would forget meeting you, Miss -?

"Bethany. Oh, we've never met, but Mister Murdock gave me a description and said that you'd probably find me."

She fought back a blush and avoided mentioning why Murdock had said Face would hone in on her. Taking a deep breath, she continued.

"He wanted me to give you the message that he and the kids could use a hand from the home team."

"Kids?"

Hannibal stepped over as he entered the conversation.

"I'm Hannibal, Miss. Part of the 'home team'. Did you say kids? As in more than one?"

"Oh yes, he had an adorable little niece named Dawn and his son, Daiki, both with him."

"Son?"

That last was from the three team members combined and sounded like they were shocked at the news. Bethany began to wonder at what the whole story here was.

"Well, I assumed so. Dawn called Mister Murdock her uncle and said the boy was her cousin."

"Aw geeze. What has that Crazy Man gotten into here?"

Mother Baracus gave her son a light swat for that. Bethany was a little ill at ease at being the center of attention for all of them, but the longer she had thought about that big guy that had given her the creeps, the more she was worried for the lanky man and the two kids.

"They were being followed by a big guy. When Dawn pointed him out to Mister Murdock, he said something about trouble and that they had to run."

"Where were they when you spoke to them?"

"It was not far from the Country Bears show - I was waiting outside for my sister and nephew."

Annie was pulling out the book that Dawn had left, turning to the map.

"Please - can you show us which way they were heading when you last saw them?"

Bethany took hold of the offered book, orienting it so that she could make it out. She pointed to the area by the water on the upper left of the map leading to the Tom Sawyer raft ride. B.A. took a look and scowled.

"That area dead ends, Colonel."

"So it does, B.A. - Mrs. Baracus and Mrs. Wilkins? Go and at least get yourselves something to drink. We'll go give the Captain a hand and be back as soon as we can. Come on, team."

The fact that there was nowhere to go but in one direction was now evident to Murdock. Carrying both kids was sapping his strength fast, but still, the decision to go over to the island on the raft was more one of desperation than the urge to rest. The men would figure out quickly enough where they'd gone. Not like there were lots of options.

Sitting the kids down on either side of him, panting a bit to catch his breath.

"Dawn sweetie? Uncle HM is about to ask you a really, really big favor. If you don't think you can do it, just say so."

She gave his hand a squeeze and just waited for him to speak again.

"I know we promised your mom that we'd stick together, but we didn't know then what we were going to run into. I'll explain it all to Daiki in a minute, but what I would want you to do is take Daiki with you. There's a whole bunch of places two kids your sizes could hide. Find a place and don't come out no matter what those men might yell - no matter what those men might threaten. I'll try and keep them busy until the guys find us. And they will, sweetie. They will. You stay put and away from them until I let you know everything's okay. Can you do that?"

Dawn looked over at Daiki. The boy was puzzled, but waiting patiently, glancing occasionally to the waters around them. Nodding, she looked back at Murdock.

"I can do it."

Beaming, Murdock gave the girl a kiss on her forehead and then quickly explained the plan to Daiki. The boy's eyes got larger, but he nodded agreement.

"Uncle HM? How will you let me know everything is okay?"

"Uhmm - I'll start singing the Small World song in Italian. Just hope ol' B.A.'s not too close to me when I do that. He'll swat the back of my head."


	9. Chapter 9

**Part IX**

Bethany just watched as the three men left before giving a last look to the book and handing it back to Annie. Part of her said she'd already gotten involved more than she should have, but the larger part of her kept remembering the man who wasn't quite like anyone else she'd ever spoken with before and the two kids that he certainly seemed hell-bent on protecting.

Without even really putting a lot of thought into why she was doing it, she headed over to the opposite side of the waters, toward the riverboat landing. Maybe this Murdock character was just going to go all the way across. If she spotted him, she could direct him to where the women were waiting. That wasn't anything more than being polite, right?

_Right - just keep telling yourself that until you believe it, Beth._

At Tom Sawyer Island, Murdock got both kids away from the dock area as quickly as possible, making plane noises so that anyone watching would just see a guy playing with his young charges. As soon as he could get them all into a slightly more secluded spot, he put them down and gave them a hug.

~Little guy? I know I'm giving you a big responsibility, but keep my niece safe for me, okay? I'm going to try and figure out how to get in contact with your father so he can come and get you.~

"Dawn? Be careful, little lady. I'm sorry today hasn't been at all like we planned. Now – go. I don't want to see where you guys are going."

Turning away and not watching as Dawn and Daiki left was one of the hardest things Murdock had ever had to do. It felt like he was abandoning them, but keeping them with him wasn't the safest thing right now. The two kids could hide in places he couldn't fit and if he didn't know where they were, nobody could make him tell.

What he needed was to find a phone. One call to the Ambassador and - _crap_.

He and Baby Huey spotted each other at nearly the exact same time.

_Oh well, as Snagglepuss would say - exit, stage right._

As he turned and hurried in another direction, Murdock frowned as he mused if it might be against the rules to think about quoting a Hanna Barbera character while he was inside of a Disney park. Then he spotted man number two and turned again only to see number three.

Obviously the time had come to make a run for it, but no matter which way he went, he was going to have to go by one of the big men. He picked Baby Huey and made his move. He successfully dodged around Baby Huey only to find the back of his jacket being jerked.

_Well - at least I know now where guy number four is. _

Murdock quickly found his right wrist captured and pulled up between his shoulder blades.

"Be in your best interest to tell us where you left the kids."

"Kids? What -"

The extra wrench on his arm cut off the rest of what he was about to say when Baby Huey shook his head.

"Not here. We'll take him to the boss."

Then the big man leaned in close to Murdock. Considering his arm was getting awfully near the breaking point, the pilot figured it would be a bad time to suggest a breath mint.

"Stan is going to release your arm in a minute. You are going to walk quietly and calmly with us."

"And exactly why would I want to do that?"

Baby Huey showed Murdock the gun he had with him. The Captain was not particularly impressed. Seeing that, the man scowled for a moment before seeming to reconsider. Murdock didn't like the smile forming on Baby Huey's face at all.

"Because if you don't cooperate the way I want you to? I'm going to start taking random shots at any kid I see around. Starting with that tot over there with the curly black hair."

The look in Murdock's eyes told the smirking man that he'd won this particular argument. He didn't know the Captain well enough to read what else those eyes could have told him. How he'd just managed to make a lifelong enemy out of Murdock.

Back at the Raft ride entrance, Hannibal had decided that Murdock being so memorable with the two kids in tow was both good and bad. Good, because they now knew he had taken the ride over to the island. Bad, because if they were able to track Murdock, whoever else was after him could as well.

B.A. found himself wishing that they could just tell these fools to get them to the other side faster and ended up watching the water, grumbling to himself. Face found his attention caught by the pair who were maneuvering the raft. One was apparently a trainee and Face distinctly heard his words: _What is it today with all the grouchy big guys? _The man doing the training had promptly shushed him and re-reminded him about the company policy about making unflattering remarks about the customers.

As soon as they were on the island, Face gave Hannibal and B.A. the fill-in.

"Right. So Murdock's and whoever's after him is here. Split up - we meet back here in ten minutes. If one of us doesn't make it back, the other two go the direction he went."


	10. Chapter 10

**Part X**

The Hall of Presidents. Bethany had wanted to visit that. Glancing back at it from the bench she was on in Liberty Square, she noted the next show time. If she hadn't spotted Murdock by then, she'd forget her crazy ideas and go inside for the show.

There were just eight more minutes to go when she finally saw the lanky man. Bethany had very nearly missed him, but when she did get a good look, she took a deep breath. The kids were missing and the nasty man that had given her the bad vibes was right behind Murdock. In fact, he seemed totally surrounded by big guys with another in front of him and others to either side.

Murdock's expression was far from that sheepish half-smile he'd given her earlier. The man that called himself Hannibal used the title Captain when he spoke of Murdock. At the time, giving the man she'd seen a military title seemed silly, but the way he was walking at that minute? In fact, his whole posture practically screamed military now. The way those men were surrounding him gave her the uncomfortable feeling of watching someone being marched to a firing squad.

Again doing without thinking it over, Bethany got up and began following the small group. She didn't have to follow too closely to keep them in sight. It was taking a lot of walking, but thankfully the men weren't rushing. When their destination became obvious, she stopped following and caught her breath. Heading back toward Main Street, she decided she'd catch a lift on one of the buses that would take her back to Cinderella's castle. She could only hope she could find the group again.

On the island, the other three team members had met back at their rendezvous point. It was Face that had come back with news. He had talked to one of the park employees saying that he was looking for his brother. The man remembered Murdock's distinctive jacket and the big guys with him. They'd all boarded the riverboat. He didn't remember noticing any kids with that group though.

B.A. was seeing red by this point. Messing with kids was the lowest of the low in his book not to mention not wanting to go back to Annie with the news that Dawn was missing and no longer with Murdock.

Hannibal headed them back to rafts. It was a less roundabout way across than the riverboat ride. If the kids weren't with Murdock, he must have hidden them somewhere. He couldn't come up with any scenario that didn't involve danger to the kids that would cause Murdock to do that.

"Come on, men - let's not waste any more time picking up the trail. Whatever Murdock's come across, it's serious."

Speaking of Murdock, he was being taken into the the A-shaped resort hotel that had the monorail going through it. Under other circumstances, he'd have really enjoyed looking around. But the men weren't just taking him inside, but to the Presidential Suite. Seemed odd to him that the President would want a suite down here when he had the whole White House back in Washington, D.C.

The man inside the suite was certainly not the President. He was, however, livid and immediately began yelling at Baby Huey in Japanese. A lot of what was being said was pretty incriminating, which puzzled Murdock until it occurred to him that these people didn't have a clue that he could understand Japanese. He wanted to keep them ignorant of that little fact, so he needed to adopt some sort of look to help him mask that he knew what was being said.

He thought about using the look B.A. tended to give him when he was calling him a fool, but dismissed that as too angry of an expression. He finally decided to go with the expression Face tended to get if a woman turned him down. Puzzled and trying to figure out what could possibly be going on. Yes - that would be the perfect one.

It was just as well that he'd already decided that. It kept him from reacting to the order to secure him. Two of the guys grabbed hold of him, forcing him into one of the chairs and tying his hands behind. Murdock couldn't help but notice from the clumsy way that the knots were being done that these guys certainly had never been scouts. Not that he was about to give them pointers on how to do them better, of course.

~This could work out for us after we find the boy. After all, someone will need to be framed for the boy's kidnapping. It may as well be the interfering American and he will be killed during the rescue. Yes, that should work well.~

Murdock winced as the rope around his wrists was given an extra tug. Whatever they did or didn't know about knots, they sure did manage to get them tight. Too tight. This was going to be tricky. Especially if they didn't leave him alone.


	11. Chapter 11

**Part XI**

As the trio moved back toward the raft ride, B.A. started getting vocal in his frustration.

"All I got to say is if they hurt those kids, somebody better pity them fools 'cause I sure won't."

His distinctive voice reached Dawn and she started to scramble out of hiding even as a worried Daiki tried to hold her back. After all, he was supposed to be protecting her.

"It's okay, Daiki. I know them. B.A.!"

At the girl's shout, they all froze. B.A. turned around with a sigh of relief and opened his arms for her to run into. Daiki let go of her about half-way there, looking confused and ready to run. Hannibal tried to say something soothing, but didn't approach the boy for fear he actually would bolt.

After Dawn had given B.A. a hug, she turned back to Daiki, wishing Uncle HM was here to explain better, but she tried. She held up four fingers and then wrapped her other hand around them to press the fingers together. Then while Daiki paid somber attention, she pointed to one finger at a time and matched them with the men.

"Hannibal - Face - B.A. - Uncle HM."

Daiki pointed to each man in turn then held up four fingers himself and touched the fourth one as if to confirm everything in his mind.

"Chichi?"

"Yes. These are his team –"

Dawn looked back to the others.

"Do any of you speak Japanese like Uncle HM does?"

Face gave her an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, honey – language guru is Murdock's talent. So, could you tell us what happened? Why are men after Murdock?"

Dawn offered her hand to Daiki and the boy made up his mind, coming up shyly to take it. Then she took a deep breath and started explaining it all in a breathless rush.

"We were getting ice cream when we saw this really big guy trying to take Daiki away. Uncle HM jumped the guy and Daiki got loose, but the guy wasn't by himself and he came back with three other guys, so we were trying to get back to the castle, but the guys keep getting between us and it until we didn't have anywhere else to go. He told us to hide while he tried to keep them away from us until you found us. He said you would."

Hannibal moved over and laid a hand on Dawn's shoulder.

"That sounds pretty impulsive – even for Murdock. What if the young man here belonged with that man?"

"He didn't. The man had put tape over Daiki's mouth to keep him from yelling for help. That's what made Uncle HM so mad, I think. He and Daiki talked for awhile and then Uncle HM got really worried, but I don't know what about other than he said we had to keep him away from the bad guys."

Face looked to Hannibal.

"Sounds like Murdock must have fouled up a kidnap attempt, Colonel. Kid's parents must either have money or be important."

"I'd say that's a safe assumption, Lieutenant. Let's get these kids somewhere safe and then see if we can find Murdock."

It had been fairly educational for Murdock while he was stuck in the chair. While the guy behind all of this mess was still berating his men for not coming back with the boy, the phone rang and he must have been expecting an important call because he had his men gag Murdock before answering it.

The man's tone and attitude while he was actually on the phone were totally different from just seconds before. Polite and respectful to nearly the point of simpering. Kind of pathetic really in Murdock's view. It didn't take long for him to figure out that he had been right about this being an inside job. This scuzzball worked for the Ambassador.

Once the phone had been hung up, the man's attitude reverted back to the bully.

~The Ambassador is on his way here. Everything must be ready before then. I do not care what you have to do – bring me that boy!~

~What about the man?~

His eyes flickered briefly to Murdock. Then he moved close enough to backhand the bound man.

~He isn't going anywhere. Go.~

Then he looked back at the American. There was an odd expression on his face. He would have expected fear or anger, but the American almost seemed to be smiling. It was just as well for Murdock that the man couldn't read his thoughts.

_I cannot wait until I get to rain on your parade, you egotistical sleaze._

At the castle, Annie was getting edgy, but then she saw B.A. approaching with Dawn holding his hand. As she ran over to her daughter, Mother Baracus breathed a partial sigh of relief then turned as she heard a voice.

"Oh. Thank goodness they found the kids."

"Bethany? I would have thought you'd have gone back with your family by now."

"Not yet. I – excuse me."

Bethany had just spotted Hannibal and made a beeline over to him. He had obviously been the one in charge.

"Excuse me, Colonel Hannibal? I know where Murdock is and I think he's in trouble."


	12. Chapter 12

**Part XII**

After a quick fill-in from Bethany about Murdock being taken to the Contemporary Resort Hotel, it was decided that Bethany would stay with the other two women. She knew what the men after the boy looked like, which was more than the rest of the adults knew. The three women would take the two tired and hungry kids into the Plaza Restaurant, sit as far as possible from windows and get something to eat while the team went to get their pilot back. Hannibal was already taking it as a positive sign that the hotel was A-shaped as he went over the basic plans with his men.

"Face, see if you can sweet-talk your way into finding out which is the most likely room for us to find Murdock in."

Nodding, the conman watched as the monorail headed into the central open section of the structure.

"Right, Colonel. Where do you want to meet?"

"Monorail exit area. Won't look very odd for us to be waiting there and if anyone questions it, we're waiting on a friend to arrive."

The Lieutenant nodded again and headed off toward the reception desk.

"B.A.? See if you can find some brochures that might give us a general layout of this places. Especially the room layouts. I'll ask around to see if anyone noticed the Captain."

"On it, Colonel."

Once B.A. headed off, Hannibal began with his own round of questioning, telling the people he was looking for his kid brother, giving them a description of Murdock and his jacket.

Upstairs in the Presidential Suite, Murdock was currently alone with the ES - short for Egotistical Sleaze. When he'd thought of that name for the man earlier, he decided that was the perfect description and had called him that in his mind ever since. Right now, the ES was chatting to his own reflection like it was his best friend. Probably was his best friend. Murdock sure couldn't imagine anyone else being able to stand him for very long. No real slam intended to the Faceman, but ES made Face look downright modest and unassuming in comparison.

~Tomorrow, the Ambassador will be here. By then, we will have found the boy and everything still has time to fall into place. There won't be time for the ransom - ah well. The ample rewards that I am sure to be given will compensate for that loss.~

While admiring his own looks and cleverness, ES rarely seemed to remember that Murdock was even still in the room - which was fine by the pilot since every time that the man **did** remember him, he came over and hit him again. Murdock's nose was already bleeding and he had blood in his mouth as well that he couldn't get rid of because of the gag, but he was still amused by the way ES would stop and study him after every blow. In fact, he was finding it hilarious mainly because seeing him amused was seeming to piss off ES a great deal. Murdock was satisfied to be as irritating to the man as possible - at least until he was able to give ES a much-needed punch in his cowardly nose. He was relatively sure that ES had never struck anyone that had had a chance in Hell of hitting back.

Downstairs, the rest of the team had regrouped. Face hadn't had a lot of difficulty finding out that representatives from the Japanese Embassy were currently in the Presidential Suite. A group including the young son of the Japanese Ambassador.

That seemed to point toward a motive for the supposed kidnapping attempt and tied in with Hannibal hearing that his 'kid brother' had been seen with one of the security men for the Embassy staff. It also meant that someone among the Embassy's representatives had a major grudge with their Ambassador. He had also learned that the Ambassador himself was expected to arrive the very next day.

B.A. had several different brochures in his hands as he looked toward one of the elevators with a frown.

"Can't figure why the Crazy Fool went along with them so quietly, Colonel. Hell, him going anywhere quietly ain't like him."

"They were manhandling a five year old kid, Sergeant. That doesn't speak of them having much in the way of scruples. If the Captain was playing along, he must have had a reason. Maybe he was cooperating to get them as far away from Dawn and Daiki as he could."

The three men stepped outside for a moment to look over the brochures, pulling out and studying the one that featured a layout for the Presidential Suite. Face glanced up then spoke softly to get the attention of his teammates.

"Guys? Look."

An official looking black car with a small Japanese flag attached to the aerial was pulling up.

"Things may have just gotten a little more complex, men. I think that might be the Ambassador - a day early."


	13. Chapter 13

**Part XIII**

Hannibal decided their best course of action would be to speak with the Ambassador before he made it inside. Well, when in doubt, try the direct approach. As the man was exiting the car, Hannibal called over.

"Excuse me, sir, but you're Daiki's father, aren't you?"

The man's gaze moved over toward the very oddly dressed trio, eyes narrowing with suspicion. After a moment of consideration, he decided he would see what the authoritative man wanted. He had had a bad feeling which is why he changed his plans without bothering to inform the members of his staff already at the park. He wondered briefly if these men might have anything to do with that feeling, but the public setting made him believe it would be safe enough to talk. He motioned for the staff he had with him to remain where they were as he moved over.

"How is it that you know my son?"

Hannibal motioned to a bench that was nearby.

"It's a long story, Mister Ambassador. And one that it would be best for you to hear in full before you decide whether you want to believe us or not."

After a moment of indecision, he sat. The trio of Americans were not exhibiting any behavior that seemed threatening and had they wanted to attack him, they could have done so without bringing attention to themselves first. And then there was the matter of his curiosity which was definitely stirred now.

"Please begin."

In as few words as possible while still giving the main details as he knew them, Hannibal laid out their day from when he and his men had arrived to spend some downtime with friends and family to the finding of Daiki and Dawn on Tom Sawyer Island.

The man listened without interruption, then shook his head slightly.

"The details seem to be rather - sketchy."

"Sorry about that, sir, but the only account we have to go by is from the six-year old girl we mentioned. While very bright, she** is **only six and I'm sure a lot of what she saw was difficult to comprehend."

"What of my son's account?"

He noticed the three men exchanged a look before their leader sighed.

"To be perfectly honest, we don't know his side of the story. The only one of us that knows Japanese is currently missing."

"I see. Then please take me to my son."

The journey to the Main Street restaurant didn't take long. Dawn nearly panicked when Daiki jumped out of his seat without warning. She grabbed for his hand, but he gave her a smile and gave her a short explanation that he knew she could understand as he pointed to the man that had just entered with Hannibal.

"Chichi!"

She understood and released his hand immediately so that he could run to his father, who gathered him into his arms. As it happened, the Ambassador didn't have to ask anything. The boy was so full of the day's events that the story poured out of him like floodwaters over a dam. The words came out so rapidly that Hannibal didn't think he could have understood them even if they'd been in English. The Ambassador, however, seemed to follow it quite well and his expression grew darker until the boy finally ran out of story.

The first question out of the Ambassador's mouth took them all off-guard.

"This man that was with my son and the girl - he is an orphan?"

Hannibal and B.A. both immediately looked to Face, who probably knew as much or more about his best friend's history as anyone did. While not sure exactly what this had to do with anything, Face cleared his throat.

"So far as I know. I mean, I've never heard Murdock mention his father and I got the impression that he never knew him. His mom died when he was five and his father's parents were the ones that actually raised him."

For whatever reason, that answer seemed to calm the man down some.

"Where is he?"

Hannibal sighed before he realized he had.

"The men that tried to take your son have him, sir. We suspect that he might be being held in the suite that your Embassy staff is in."

The Ambassador's expression hardened again as he considered the implications, but then he noticed his son was reaching his hand out to the young girl. His eyes softened. With a small smile, he offered his own hand to Dawn.

"My son has told me how brave you were. How you stayed by his side no matter what was happening. I am in your debt."

Dawn took the Ambassador's hand, but she felt a bit shy.

"I wasn't all that brave, sir. I knew Uncle HM wouldn't let anyone hurt us."

"Ah yes. Speaking of your Uncle -"

He looked back over to Hannibal.

"I believe it is time I met your missing man. Shall we find him?"


	14. Chapter 14

**Part XIV**

Murdock wasn't making a lot of headway against the ropes. Usually, he was pretty good about being able to work his way out of them - he'd had more practice at trying to slip out of restraints than he really cared to think about. He was having two main problems this time. First was the tightness of the ropes had made his hands go numb. Second was that between the gag and his bloody nose, breathing was getting harder and that had him light-headed. Not that he didn't seem perpetually light-headed to most folks, but that was a different kind. This was the bad kind.

The pilot didn't realize just how distracted he was until he suddenly heard Baby Huey speak to the ES. When had he come back in? Probably just had from the way he was speaking. It was kind of funny that a big guy like that could have such a squeaky voice when excited.

~The Ambassador's car is dowstairs! I saw it!~

The Second Secretary scowled. Why was everything going wrong? He knew exactly where the blame belonged and this time, he struck the annoying man hard enough that the chair tipped and fell over, spattering some of the blood onto the carpet.

~Take this idiot into the back bedroom and leave him.~

Grabbing the chair, Baby Huey sat it upright, then tipped it onto two legs to drag it and its half-conscious resident away. Preoccupied with wondering why the Ambassador came early without informing him, he glanced out of a window. Why hadn't they found that brat yet? The only time he had bothered to try and get it out of him, the American had showed that he wasn't going to cooperate. At least that's what he assumed it had meant when the man answered by starting to sing the Mickey Mouse Club song.

At the reservation desk downstairs, the Ambassador shifted his son to one hip while taking his copy of the suite key. Hannibal had turned for the elevator, but turned back when he heard him questioning why the desk clerk had picked up the phone.

"Your Second Secretary requested that we give him a call to let him know that you had arrived as soon as you picked up your key."

"No. Do not do that. I will explain things to him myself when I see him."

The clerk hesitated for only a second before hanging the phone back up. The Ambassador was the one who the reservation had been made for, so she figured that he was the one whose orders took priority.

The ride to the fourteenth floor seemed to take forever to the team, but they finally stepped off only to have the Ambassador raise his hand to stop them. Then Hannibal heard the raised voices as well. Sounded like a full-fledged adult temper tantrum. Two voices - neither of them Murdock's. None of them knew what was being said, but the facial coloration on the Ambassador going scarlet said a lot. He practically shoved Daiki into the arms of a very startled Face before storming over to the door, unlocking it and throwing it open.

Hannibal and B.A. made sure they were right behind him. The larger man made the mistake of pulling his weapon at the sudden intrusion. B.A. went right for him as Hannibal quickly put himself between the gun and the Ambassador. Fortunately for all concerned, B.A. staggered the man with a hard punch and got the gun away without any shots being fired.

Taking the gun with him, B.A. started back toward the Ambassador but stopped dead, looking down.

"Colonel, sir?"

Both Hannibal and the Ambassador looked and saw the blood. Hannibal reached out and touched it, the red coming back on his fingers.

"Still fresh."

At the look Hannibal fixed on him, the Second Secretary quickly felt less annoyed by the turn of events and more leery.

"Where - is - my - man?"

Now in the doorway, Face was losing hold of the very squirmy five year old. As soon as he was down, Daiki took off into the suite with Face close behind. The conman didn't know who else might be in there and he wasn't about to let the kid out of his sight even if he was hoping the kid just had to go to the bathroom really bad. Then the boy darted into a room and shouted.

"Chichi!"

Following the boy into the bedroom, the first thing Face noticed was the back of a chair and the arms tied behind it. The jacket sleeves left no doubt who was on the other side of that chair.

"Colonel! We've found him!"


	15. Chapter 15

**Part XV**

When Murdock heard Daiki's voice, time slowed for him in a horrible, gut-twisting fashion. Everything he'd tried to keep the boy safe hadn't worked. The ES had gotten his hands on him anyway. And Dawn? What the hell might they have done to Dawn?

Then the sound of Face's voice came through like a lifeline. Which was good, because in his opinion, this whole not being able to get air thing was getting old. Unfortunately, Face was concentrating on the ropes first.

B.A. remained in the other room, glowering at the two men and in general convincing them that coming near the door would be a bad idea in regards to their continued health. Hannibal and the Ambassador headed to the back bedroom where the whole day had caught up to Daiki, who was hanging onto Murdock and crying with his head on the pilot's lap. Hannibal gave Face a hand with getting Murdock loose at which time he gently moved the boy to the side, went into the room's bathroom and threw up all of the blood he'd been forced to swallow to keep from choking. Wincing at the sounds, Face followed Murdock in and got a warm washcloth ready.

As soon as he was able to catch a decent breath again, Murdock called back out to the boy.

~It's alright, little guy. It looks and sounds worse than it is.~

Then he had a second of panic.

"Dawn!"

Putting a hand on his shoulder, Face spoke soothingly as he handed Murdock the washcloth.

"Easy, Murdock. She's fine. She's with Annie and your mom. And Bethany. Just what did you say to her about me?"

Hannibal gave a short laugh

"Let's leave answering that for another time, men. Murdock, this is Daiki's father."

As the Ambassador offered his hand, Murdock started to take it, then realized that he had some blood on his hand. Using the washcloth to quickly wipe it off, he then dried his hand against his pants before finally extending it again. The Ambassador seemed bemused by the whole process, though he turned a bit more formal again when they actually shook hands.

"I was not sure about you when my son first told me about you. It almost seemed like you might have been part of this whole plan. Someone trying to gain my son's trust."

Hannibal leaned back against the doorframe as the earlier question clicked into place for him. Murdock was looking puzzled and a little bit hurt, so Hannibal spoke up.

"Murdock? Did you tell Daiki your mother died when you were young?"

Still looking just as puzzled but now a little embarrassed as well, the pilot nodded.

"Yes, sir. I kind of put my foot into it when I asked what his mom's name was and he got upset. I felt bad for asking. I mean, I was little at the time, but I remember how it felt when someone that didn't know would ask me about my mom. It sucked."

Then Murdock winced and started apologizing to the Ambassador.

"Oh man - did what I said about my mom make the little guy feel even worse? I'm sorry - I was trying to apologize to him, but I guess I screwed that up."

"No, you did not make him feel worse. It is my apology that I hope you will accept. I did not think that a stranger would go through so much for someone that they did not even know."

It was then that it came to the Ambassador that Murdock was looking at him like he had switched to another language. This was a man that apparently was having trouble comprehending that there actually were a great many people that might not have come to the aid of a random stranger in trouble.

His last reservations about Murdock gone, he started to speak to him in rapid Japanese and was impressed at how fluently the man responded. Even without knowing Japanese, the others could tell when Murdock switched to relating what the ES had said around him as the pilot shifted his tone to a credible imitation of the man still fuming in the front room.

After he was sure he had the whole story, the Ambassador gave Murdock a very respectful bow, sure that if the man was that knowledgeable in the language that he would be equally so in the body language. He got his answer to that when Murdock carefully returned the bow with just the right depth.

"I would like to thank you in a more tangible fashion. Is there anything I can do for you, Mister Murdock?"

There was a small smile that formed on Murdock's face.

"Two things. Could I see the Second Secretary for a minute? And could I say something to B.A.?"

At the requests, it was the Ambassador's turn to look puzzled, but he motioned Murdock out of the room and they all followed him to where B.A. was still keeping an eye on the pair. The muscle man scowled at Murdock's beaten look even though the Captain was grinning broadly now.

"What you grinnin' at, Fool? And why did you come back here with these losers without kickin' up a fuss in the first place?"

Murdock just reached over and tapped lightly on the gun that B.A. had taken away from Baby Huey.

"If I hadn't gone along, he was going to start taking shots at kids, Big Guy."

No further explanation was necessary. Baby Huey seemed to deflate somewhat as B.A. fixed a hard stare at him and started over. Not that his shrinking down stopped B.A. from putting a fist into his jaw.

The ES had been watching B.A. but then felt that someone was near him. He turned around just in time to meet Murdock's fist as it connected with his nose.

Sitting down onto the nearest piece of furniture, Murdock gave a contented sigh.

"I feel much better now. Thank you, Mister Ambassador."

There were quite a few phone calls after that - one of them to the doctor that was part of the Embassy staff who came to make sure Murdock was alright aside from being roughed up. Another was to have the Second Secretary and his four accomplices taken away to await deportation to Japan and charges there.

Daiki had climbed into Murdock's lap while watching his father on the phone. Once the men had been taken away, the Ambassador looked over the team.

"Please allow me to make up for at least part of the loss of your leisure time. I would be honored if all of you would be my guests this evening."

It rather amused him the way that all of the men automatically turned to the one they called Hannibal. Even if their conversation hadn't been randomly peppered with the occasional military term, it would have been easy enough to guess their bond. Few things connected men together as deeply, especially not ones as diverse as the four of these men.

"Mister Ambassador, we would be delighted."


	16. Chapter 16

**Part XVI**

Bethany had the oddest feeling that she was on some surreal variation on an Alice in Wonderland ride as she ended up swept along with the Team and their family. It started with them bringing Murdock back - who was smiling, but looked like he'd been in a car wreck. Dawn and Mrs. Baracus immediately went to assure themselves that he was actually alright. Her hearing Murdock calling the woman 'Mom' was also a bit surprising, but she was starting to get the hang of expecting unexpected things around this group. She didn't miss a beat when she was asked to join all of them for supper that night.

Watching the group dynamic herself, Annie was feeling a bit odd. She had spent a good portion of the afternoon extremely mad at Murdock. Sure, she could see where he would have come to the defense of the boy, but her own concern over the danger he'd put her daughter in while doing that overrode the good in her mind. But now that she was finally seeing him again for the first time since that morning?

She took a long look at the lanky man wearing what had been a new brightly colored Tigger shirt, now discolored with blood. His own blood. Then Annie looked to her daughter. A little dirty and disheveled, but without so much as a cut or scrape big enough to warrant a band aid. The little boy, Daiki, had been in similar condition. Clear as day, what B.A. had said to her suddenly came back to her mind - _"He's like that. He'll put himself between other folks and danger if he can. Rather be hurt himself than see other folks hurt."_

With a soft sigh, her anger at him ebbed away as she watched him kneeling down while Dawn caught him in a death-grip hug that had to be half-strangling the man. B.A. almost seemed to be reading her mind and knew where her racing thoughts had taken her.

"That's one thing him and me got in common 'sides loving Momma. Kids. Somebody messin' with a kid make us so mad, can't see straight. I'd likely done the same thing, you know. Gone off and helped that boy without thinkin' about them maybe coming after Dawn as well. But what else could he have done? And still been able to live with himself after?"

The soft babble of words coming from Murdock reached her then. He was apologizing to Dawn for ruining her day and Dawn wasn't having any of it. In fact, once she finally released her grip on Murdock, she went over to the Ambassador and asked if Daiki could still continue to be her cousin - at least for one or two more days - and go on the rides with her and Uncle HM. Annie leaned against B.A. then.

"Not a thing. If I was being honest with myself, I don't know if I would have thought it through before acting either."

Hannibal called the studio and told them some car trouble would be delaying his arrival for another day, then he settled back down. The Ambassador sat down next to him, a little curious as Hannibal began to chuckle softly.

"Might I ask what you are finding so amusing?"

"That."

The gesture was toward where Daiki and Dawn were talking back and forth as fast as Murdock could translate. It didn't answer his question at all.

"And that is amusing how?"

"The Second Secretary. For someone looking to advance himself at the cost of relations between our two countries, I'd say that's proof that he struck out on all counts, wouldn't you?"

The smile forming on the Ambassador's face acknowledged the truth in that. He knew for his own part that he was coming away from this with a greater appreciation for at least one group of Americans.

The dinner that evening was in a private area with music playing. There were various Disney characters in attendance - more than usual due to the Ambassador's request. Murdock was sporting a brand-new Tigger shirt and Daiki had joined the theme by getting and wearing a Roo shirt. The dinner was excellent and while they were waiting on dessert, a beautifully dressed Cinderella even came by the table and invited Murdock to dance with her. He hesitated, but he accepted after a slight encouragement from Hannibal. The young woman had expected that she would have to guide the man across the floor, but was pleasantly surprised to find out that Murdock could waltz beautifully. Hannibal just grinned at some of the awed expressions around the table.

"Do you have any idea how many Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire movies that man has watched?"

Coming back to the table, Murdock guided 'Cinderella' over to Face then extended a hand to Bethany. She stammered a bit.

"I don't dance."

"Sure you do. Your brain may not know it, but your feet do. Pretty please? Whipped cream and sprinkles on top?"

That and a slight nudge from Mrs. Baracus got her on her feet as Pluto and Mickey came over to have a moment with Dawn and Daiki. To her own surprise, Bethany found Murdock was right. With him guiding her, it almost did seem like her feet knew what they were doing. He spoke softly to her near the end of the dance.

"Thank you. If you'd rather dance with Faceman, I can take Cindy around again."

She had to fight back an unexpected case of the giggles at the nickname he's given Cinderella.

"Would you prefer to be dancing with 'Cindy'?"

"No."

"I'd rather keep the dance partner I already have then."

There was a spot in the hall where they could go watch the fireworks display when it began. It felt almost like one of those old films from the thirties or forties when Murdock picked that time to give Bethany a kiss.

Glancing over in time to catch that, Face gave a slight sigh. Bethany really was a beauty, but as he now had the numbers for Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Snow White and even Minnie Mouse all securely in his pocket, he guessed he couldn't begrudge his best friend.


	17. Chapter 17

**Part XVII - Epilogue**

The next day saw a rather large group staying together, though most of them sat nearby and and waited for Murdock to get off of the Small World ride with the kids. He had managed to teach Daiki the song in English so he was singing that while Dawn was belting it out in Japanese and Murdock sang in Spanish to round it out.

Bethany was along with them for the day as well much to the confusion of her sister who couldn't understand why Beth didn't want to go to Sea World with her. She'd thought she understood that morning when the van arrived to pick Beth up from their hotel and she caught a glimpse of Face. The puzzlement returned when a lanky man that looked like he'd been on the wrong end of a fight stepped out and Bethany went over to take his arm. Sighing, she went back inside to apply sunscreen to her son before heading out for the day. She never would understand that sister of hers.

Mother Baracus and the Ambassador had found the previous evening that they both had a love of baseball in common and were continuing their talk about some of their favorite players and teams. She even issued him an open invitation for he and his son to come to Chicago to come and see a live game with her.

The group hit all of the major attractions with a good deal of snacking along the way. The dinner that night was again courtesy of the Ambassador. Dawn and Daiki had exchanged addresses to become pen pals. Murdock had a address and phone number for later use himself from the woman that he'd come to describe as smelling like sunshine. While Bethany wasn't quite sure what that meant, she was quite sure that it was a compliment.

By the time they turned in that evening, Murdock paused long enough to prop up a framed photo featuring himself, Bethany, Dawn, Daiki and Goofy posing together on the bedside table. He smiled, running a finger along the edge of the frame before turning off the lights. As he snuggled his exhausted body gratefully down onto the luxury of fresh sheets on a soft bed, he gave a slight giggle just before sleep overook him. For the moment, absolutely everything was 100% perfect in Murdock-World.

Not so far away in distance but light-years apart in satisfaction, a former member of the Japanese Embassy sat in a holding area gingerly touching his sore face. His hoped for future career in politics was more shattered than his nose.

None of this was his fault, of course. His planning had been perfect and his timing immaculate. No - all of the blame for his disgrace had one source and one source only. That interfering American that they had called Murdock.

Looking toward the window, he thought about the future. His family would likely be able to prevent him from serving any jail time. There were businesses controlled by his family that kept out of the public eye and he would move into one of them. He might not get the fame and recognition that he craved, but he would get money. And along with money, he would get the thing he now wanted more than anything else. Revenge on that infuriating Murdock.


End file.
